From the Vault: WW2 tank mobility tests

Today we have a few videos of World War 2 era tanks being put through a series of mobility tests.

First is this video from 1951 from Sweden. The video compares the mobility of a Sherman Firefly vs a British Churchill tank, a German Panther and the Strv M/42. The audio is in Swedish but fortunately English subtitles are provided.

The next video is of an Australian test conducted in January of 1945 comparing the Sherman and Churchill tanks. This video shows the rather extreme conditions these vehicles were operated in by the Australian forces. We were not able to embed this video in the post but if you click the image below, it will take you to the page where the video may be watched.

This next video is a short clip from a German propaganda film showing a Panther tank successfully clearing an obstacle which a M3 Lee is unable to clear.

Here is a short clip of a damaged Royal Tiger (“Porsche turret”) being put through a water fording test by Allied solders.

And finally, here is a longer clip showing US soldiers driving around a captured German Panther tank. At the 7:31 mark the footage switches to scenes of a British Archer and Valentine using a Tiger I for target practice. At the 9:18 mark the video shows footage of the hull of the uncompleted E-100 German super heavy tank.